osStat

Osstat is a common shorthand for the Python standard library function os.stat, which retrieves filesystem metadata for a given path. It is used to obtain information about files and directories, such as size, ownership, permissions, and timestamps, without reading the file’s contents.

The function returns a stat_result object containing multiple attributes. The most commonly used are st_mode (file type and permissions), st_ino (inode number), st_dev (device), st_nlink (link count), st_uid and st_gid (owner user and group), st_size (size in bytes), and timestamps including st_atime (last access), st_mtime (last modification), and st_ctime (creation or status change time, depending on the platform). Some platforms also provide additional fields such as st_blocks and st_blksize.

Usage is straightforward: import os; s = os.stat(path). The path can be a string, bytes, or a PathLike object. If the path does not exist or is inaccessible, os.stat raises an exception (e.g., FileNotFoundError or PermissionError). os.stat follows symbolic links, unlike os.lstat, which reports information about the link itself.

To interpret st_mode, the stat module provides utilities such as stat.S_ISDIR(st_mode) to test for a directory, stat.S_ISREG(st_mode) for regular files, and bitmasks to inspect permission bits (e.g., stat.S_IRUSR, stat.S_IWGRP). On Windows, st_ctime represents creation time, whereas on POSIX systems it typically represents the last status change time.

Osstat is commonly used in file management, auditing, and programs that need to inspect file properties without opening the file. It is a foundational tool in Python’s os and filesystem-related workflows.